Escaping US deportation efforts, a family of asylum seekers made three attempts to cross into Canada.

The Rainbow Bridge, which crosses the Niagara River between the United States and Canada, has for decades been a symbol of peace connecting two countries.

But for Araceli, a Salvadorian migrant, and her family, the bridge represented a seemingly insurmountable hurdle.

Along with her partner and two daughters, aged four and 14, the family first attempted to cross the bridge on 17 March.

They had arrived with a suitcase and documents that they believed assured them they would soon be reunited with Araceli’s siblings on Canadian soil and escape the threat of US President Donald Trump’s mass deportations.

But the plan failed. Not just once, but twice.

While a third attempt proved successful, immigration experts and official statistics point to a rise of asylum seekers at the border fleeing not just their homelands, but President Trump’s immigration policies.